1) Rhymesayer and local hip-hop troupe Doomtree member Paper Tiger has just released his first full-length album “Made Like Us.” A cohesive mix of hip-hop, trance, ambient and old-school rap beats, the artist’s album features the melancholy voice of fellow Doomtree member and Minnesota Public Radio favorite Dessa, seen below in studio at The Current.

Paper Tiger’s next appearance will be tomorrow night at Sauce Spirits and Soundbar in Minneapolis.

2) British firefighters are using a new (and much more fun-looking) technique to fight smaller fires.

Firefighters on Merseyside are piloting a new way of tackling fires – a motorbike fitted with water tanks and a high-pressure jet.

3) Darth Vader has struck again. And we thought he died in 1983!

… what on earth do you do if you glance up to see a 6 feet, 2 inches tall Sith Lord sporting camouflage pants and a blue cape? Do you even wait for him to flash his gun or do you just fork over the cash before he Force chokes you?

His list of crimes keeps growing: first, trying to overcome the whole universe to the Dark Side; then, robbing a bank; what next? Disturbing the peace? Oh yeah, he’s got that one covered already, too.

4) Duluth Trading Co. is making business headway. For the first time, they will have a store where customers can visit and see products without needing to attend the annual tent sale before their purchases. Great! Seeing products before you buy them is a good thing. But not everyone’s happy:

By late Thursday evening, Thad W. Allen, the retired Coast Guard admiral who leads the federal response effort, said many vessels at the well site were preparing to leave now that a tropical depression had developed into a tropical storm, Bonnie, that was headed into the gulf.

Hopefully this cap will hold for the next week or two, unlike the previous 94 days.